Time Bomb
by Boom Box Guy
Summary: There was a time bomb ticking down to the day when tempers will flare and only succeed in burning down the foundation of their relationship while attempting to get a point across. Only a matter of time.


_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

It was nearly midnight and Elizabeth had given up all hope of Aaron returning home and still being in a state that Jason would not openly question. She stood and took the remote control from her son and turned off the television. Jason turned to her with red-rimmed eyes that looked up at her groggily in protest.

"But Mommy," he whined. "If I go to bed now when Daddy comes home he'll watch the rest of the Lord of the Rings marathon without me and then he won't take me with him to the Hobbit tomorrow." He looked up at her with his father's eyes pleadingly. "Please, Mommy. I'm sure Daddy will be here any second now and then you can go to bed."

"No, sweetheart. I'm not sure Daddy's gonna be home anytime soon. Come on, we need to go home."

He shook his head vigorously. "No, Mommy! We can't go! We can't! What if Daddy comes and we're not here? Then I'll never get to see the Hobbit."

"I'm sorry, Jason. You'll have to see it later."

"But Ben and Uncle Marc are going to go see the Hobbit tomorrow and we were going to come with them. Please Mommy! I'll pick up my toys and take a bath and you won't even have to tell me to. Please!"

"Sweetheart, I really wish we didn't have to go, but you need to go to bed."

Jason looked up at his mother with watery eyes and nodded solemnly. "Okay, Mommy."

Elizabeth picked up Jason and carried him out of the backroom of the bookstore she self owned and outside into the hot summer's night. Jason was out like a light before she even stepped on the almost empty subway that they took home.

Surprisingly, there were only three other people on their subway. A man in his late forties was skimming through a newspaper in one of the seats reserved for the old and disabled. Two women were babbling away to each other in some foreign language that Elizabeth assumed was German. So much for the city that never sleeps.

They got off at the third stop and Elizabeth trudged home laden with a completely unconscious toddler that might as well been a log for all his responsiveness. The second she walked home to the flat that has became her small family's home she was immediately greeted by the comforting familiarity of the sounds of their home. In the kitchen, the fridge hummed a greeting to her and the ongoing traffic continued to blare from the window above the sink that overlooked the streets of New York City. The light curtains rustled from the light breezes that ventured in through the open windows in hope to cool down their little flat. Then the steady sound of the ticking of the old grandfather clock Elizabeth had inherited from her great grandmother who had left it to her in her will.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

But as she crept up the stairs to put Jason to bed and then to retire herself she encountered a noise that was something not exactly unfamiliar, but under no circumstances would it be considered comforting in the least. Another rhythmic breathing. She snuck to the linen closet where she hides a wooden Louisville slugger, that she kept for situations like these, and used it to push open the door to Jason's room. The door creaked loudly as it swung open on its rusty hinges and made Elizabeth cringe. Nothing was out of place.

Brandishing the bat in one hand, Elizabeth opened up the door to the bedroom she shared with Aaron and stepped through into the darkness. There was someone in there, but instead of going through her jewelry box he was sleeping on her bed. Jason woke up and began whimpering. Elizabeth put him on the ground and raised a finger to her lips. The boy nodded and put his finger to his lips as well. She turned around and raised the bat above her head and was about to bring it down on the intruder's head when he suddenly turned over in her sleep so she could see his face. Even though his hair was partially covering his face she could still recognize her husband's face.

She let out a sigh of relief, picked up Jason, and carries him to his bedroom. But his curiosity wouldn't let her leave him without a word. "Mommy, who was that?"

"That was just Daddy, sweetie."

"Why did he come back home? He promised he would come to the bookstore and watch Lord of the Rings with me."

"I don't know. He probably was just real tired and couldn't stay up. We can't all be hyper like you."

"But Mommy. Isn't that what coffee's for?"

"No sweetie. Coffee is for the morning only or late shifts."

"Oh… Okay. G'night Mommy."

"Good night Jason."

And with that Elizabeth closed the door behind her and collapsed into bed after putting the Louisville slugger back in the linen closet for safe keeping. The mattress creaked with Elizabeth's extra weight and succeeded in doing the impossible and waking Aaron. He stretched out across the bed and pulled Elizabeth into his chest.

"You're back a little late tonight. Where were you?"

Typical Aaron. Not even a simple hello. "Oh, you know downtown at Grimm."

"Why the hell were you and Jason at Grimm* at midnight? You were the one who issued that Jason have a bedtime then you're the first one to take him out at some unholy hour at night without a note or _something _to let me know where you went. It would have saved me a lot of worrying if you _told _me where you had gone."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes in dark. "Yes, each snore was laced with worry and fear. And I can't believe you forgot, _again_. There's only some many heartbreaks a boy can go through, you know."

He let her go and stood up. "And can you be ever so kind and refresh my memory on the horrible deed I had somehow committed today?"

"Does seven o'clock ring a bell? I wouldn't hold it against you; it _was _this morning and that was such a long, long time ago."

"Fine, you win. I have no clue what you are talking about."

"Well, you had promised Jason that you two could watch the Lord of the Ring marathon tonight, but of course you forgot and Jason made me stay down there waiting for you for to show up for about a whole five hour movie. He was heartbroken when you didn't show up."

"I forgot that today was tutoring day so I got held back for a while and afterwards I didn't want anything more than to go to bed so I so apologetically apologize for my misdoings. There happy now?"

"No. I'm not the person you let down. In this situation at least. Go apologize to Jason."

He sighed in frustration. "Elizabeth, I think we should just go to bed before some things get said that shouldn't see the light of day."

"And that's supposed to mean?"

"That you should stop bitching me about things I have already freaking apologized for and just go to bed." He hadn't really meant it. His words were out from some bitter part of himself he never knew before he could even attempt to censor them. They had been together for a blissful period of time and hadn't really encountered any difficulties like this. Even all their squabbles in high school combined couldn't begin to compare to this.

A rather bitter silence fell over the two and both of them refused to break the heavy silence with an apology. And luckily they both were smart enough not to say anything that would start something that wouldn't end in either of their favors. Aaron lied back down on the bed and Elizabeth turned the opposite direction in response. Soon they both fell into a dark dreamless sleep with their backs to each other. The several inches separating the two were lit with bitterness.

_There was a time bomb ticking down to the day when tempers will flare and only succeed in burning down the foundation of their relationship while attempting to get a point across. It will count down to the day when their relationship will be brought to its knees and forced to beg for mercy before it is slaughtered by temporary rage that'll cause permanent damage. They'll break each other down until there's no one left to pick up the pieces of their love back together. They'll both lie defeated on the bloody battlefield of love just more broken hearts added to the growing casualties. _

**Happy holidays! I know this is short but I have another chapter on the way and I wanted to give you guys a special little something, something in time for Christmas. (Srry if I offend you if you don't celebrate the holiday.) This is the rewritten version of SFFA so I'll keep SFFA up until the last chapter for this is posted.**

***Grimm is the name of the store. Sorry, if its lame.**


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